Hidden Letters
by Yugi16dm
Summary: There's a rumor going around about a locker in the entire school that didn't belong to anyone. The only problem was, no one knew where it was. It is said that if you find this locker, you will be granted your most desperate desire. Seto/Jou :3
1. The Unexpected Surprise

**Hidden Letters**

Summary: There's a rumor going around about a locker in the entire school that didn't belong to anyone. The only problem was, no one knew where it was. It is said that if you find this locker, you will be granted your most desperate desire. eventual Seto/Jou; Rated T; eventual shonen-ai/yaoi; Don't like, don't read!

Disclaimer: Only in my most desperate dreams do I own Yu-Gi-Oh; in reality, however, I do not own the greatest card game anime ever created. Sigh.

Warning: Polite Anzu-bashing. You have been warned.

Hi! Yes, you are in the right place. I'm so happy you're interested in my fic. I have been considering the idea for this fic for a while now, but never really put it down into writing... or typing. Of course the eventual pairing is Seto/Jou. They are my favorite couple. They are just so cute! And they were literally made for each other... in my opinion, anyway. How that pairing will happen in this fic, however, you'll have to read to find out. I hope you enjoy this story and I promise I'll try to update as soon as I can! I don't think the chapters will be very long, but I promise I will have enough to satisfy you! :3 Now, on with the first chapter!

Chapter One: The Unexpected Surprise

Jounouchi entered the classroom full of students who were gossiping. Just when he sat in his seat, the bell rang, indicating the beginning of the school day. He turned to his friends.

"Hey, have y'all heard of that rumor that's going around?" He asked them. They stared back at him with a raised brow.

"What rumor?" Anzu asked. "I would know if there was a rumor going around, Jounouchi. I _am_ the gossip queen of the school."

Jounouchi smirked. "It's something about an old locker no one's used in ages. Rumor is when you find it and open it, you get what you desire- or something like that."

"Pfft." Honda spat. "That's sounds like a bunch of bologna."

"I don't know, Honda-kun," Yugi began, "I wouldn't be surprised if this locker really existed. There are things in this world we can't explain. Take my Puzzle, for instance."

"Oh come on, Yugi, you can't really believe that there's some magic locker in the school that has whatever you want." Honda complained.

"Actually," Jounouchi cut in, "it's supposed to have your innermost desire in there. Not just something you want."

"Whatever. It's still a load of crap."

"Alright class, time to get started!" The teacher walked in and the students turned to face her. Their class began as any other day.

By lunchtime, the rumor of the mysterious locker had spread so far that students from other the high school knew about it already. How that happened, nobody knows.

The chit-chatting in the cafeteria seemed even louder than normal with this new rumor that had surfaced. Everyone was determined to find this locker, and was even asking the teachers if they knew where it might be, which is how the teachers found out about it and were also in desperate pursuit of the locker.

The only person that seemed uninterested in the rumor was a certain brunet sitting in the corner table, nibbling on a piece of celery and staring down into his laptop's luminescent screen. He was already annoyed by the noise that surrounded him daily in the cafeteria; now that this rumor had spread, it was even more noisy and annoying.

He chowed down on the rest of the vegetable, closed his laptop, and rose from his seat furiously. He headed to his own locker and placed his laptop inside, when suddenly, his eye had caught hold something he never really noticed before in his four years of having the locker.

There seemed to be a kind of latch at the very back of it. He never really paid attention to the contents of his locker. The only thing that interested him was the very thing he had just now placed inside. Had he cared more about what was already in there, he would have noticed it sooner.

He decided to investigate, and soon found that if he pulled on the small latch, it opened toward him to reveal another compartment. He was amazed at this and decided to reach further inside to make out anything in there.

His eyes widened a bit when he felt something hard against his fingers. He grabbed the object and brought into the light. He saw it was a blue notebook. He scanned over the cover of it, finding it in perfect condition. He reached back inside his locker and closed the small latch, soon after, his locker door followed.

He thought about opening the mysterious notebook right there, but thought twice as he heard Jounouchi's loud laugh coming this way, and quickly stowed it in bag to bring home.

Well, that's it! I hope you enjoyed it and I'll try as hard as I can to write the continuing chapters as fast as humanly possible! And then I'll post soon following! Please review! I'm desperate to know if this is getting somewhat interesting. Any kind of feedback would be nice. I will accept any flames, as long as they include useful constructive criticism. Thank you! REVIEW!


	2. Into the Deep Blue

-*caramelldansen-dancing* ooh ooh ooaah ooaah.... yeah!-

Hi! I'm back! I have to admit, this story, though dull it seems right now, is getting very interesting... at least it is in my mind! Lol. Well, I'll have you know that MY LAST DAYS OF SCHOOL ARE COMING UP so I am going to be VERY busy with Graduation... the All-Nighter... Open House... College... yadda yadda yadda, you get the idea. So, I'll try to do **as much as I can** concerning this fic. I want to please anyone who is curious to know what happens. I'm still not entirely sure how long I plan to make this or even what is going to happen after the few ideas in my head. So feel free to make suggestions! :)

Oh... about this chapter. I'm not sure if you'll notice, but my intention was to incorporate some references to _1984_ in it... kinda. And also a similarity to _Midsummer Night's Dream_. Yeah.

Anyways, I'm rambling... so let's begin this!

Hidden Letters

Pairing: eventual Seto/Jou

Warning:

Disclaimer: If you truly believe that I own something so awesome, then there's obviously something wrong in both our minds.

Chapter Two: Into the Deep Blue

It was 2 in the morning when Kaiba got home from work. It was a very busy workday for him. Even this late! He was motivated by the blue notebook that occupied his backpack. (He usually left his bag at school since he usually had his homework done already but he didn't want anyone to see him carrying a random blue notebook, and his briefcase was strictly for work only.)

He set his briefcase on the floor next to the door and went straight up to his home office with his backpack on his shoulder. He turned on the small lamp, took his seat, and placed his bag on the desk as he took out the naggy notebook. (He was tortured by it all day because he so badly wanted to see what was inside it but work wouldn't permit him. He eventually started talking to it like Tom Hanks does to 'Wilson' in Cast Away. "Wiiiiiiillllllsoooooonnnnn!" Lol. Sorry. X3)

His eyes lingered over the cover for a few seconds before he opened it to the first page. He realized now this notebook must've been a diary to someone. He began to read...

_I'm so confused. I hate it. Sometimes I feel like I just want to give up and end all this misery. I hate it. I'd rather be in a different world. A world where everything went how I want it to be and everyone is happy... A little girl, about eight years of age, wearing a beautiful yellow sundress reached the beach with a light smile on her face, eager to play in the warm sand. She picked her spot, sat down and began to dig her fingers and toes in the comfortable sand. She sat leaning backwards with her eyes closed, enjoying the sweet sensation and taking in the warmth she felt under the sun. It was moments like this that she wished to have a big brother to look after her, to protect her from harm and bring her to places like this to enjoy. But that was all taken away from her. No, she was as lonely as ever. Never again seeing that precious face again, that sweet and comforting smile, the knowledge that she was, indeed, secure..._

Kaiba reached the end of what was written. He turned the page, wondering eagerly what happened next. But he came to a blank page. In fact, the first page was the only one written on. He was a bit disappointed. He had expected a lot more to be written in here; especially considering how old this notebook could possibly be. There just had to be something else! Maybe the owner simply forgot about it?

Kaiba decided to read again what was written. This _diary_ had started out as a regular whining person writing to no one to cool some heat. But then it turned into a very interesting parable. He wanted more. But how? There was no way words would appear by themselves just by asking for it!

He decided to try some Harry Potter scheme, only, instead, continuing the parable and began to write in pen after the other's writing.

_... She found herself laying all the way down on the sandy shore. The sunset was beautiful in the distance, she realized. The warmth was slowly disappearing, but she remained in place. She didn't want to leave until the sun was completely gone. Counting down until the sun vanished behind the Earth's surface to shine on the other half of the world, she began to await the moon. She began counting as many constellations as she could find. The beauty of the stars sparkled brightly in her eyes so full of amazement. She didn't want to leave until the calm and coolness of the starry night was overshadowed by the sun once again..._

He rubbed his eyes as he looked to the clock. 4:23am. He needed to get some rest before school tomorrow. He closed the notebook and shoved it back into his bag. He then went to his room and lay on the bed. He was soon engulfed by thoughts of the little girl in the diary. As sleep took over, his dreams consisted of the warm beach... the young girl... the sand... he wished he could feel that free.

That's it for this chapter! I hope you liked it and give me plenty of feedback! I worked rather hard on this chapter. I didn't want it to be TOO obvious about the notebook, but I didn't want you to be completely oblivious. :) Anyway, please tell me what you think! I'm desperate to know. I'll accept flames as long as they are in the form of constructive criticism. The third chapter might take me a bit longer to put up, but I promise I WILL update as soon as I can! Just be patient... REVIEW PLEASE... THANKS!


	3. Invisible Words

Hello! Hello! Hello! It is I, the one who is. Lol. I'm back baby! Bringing you the third installment to Hidden Letters. But first.... sorry it took me a bit longer. (but if you remember, I said it would take a bit longer for this chapter) I'm trying to make my chapters longer so I don't disappoint anyone. Yeah. So I wasn't very sure where to go with this after the last chapter, but I got some awesome ideas from my friends and now, well... here it is! Of course, writer's block wasn't the only thing on my mind—or not—it was all these graduation plans going down.

Oh, by the way... I know so far this fic seems like it's Kaiba's POV kinda, but it's really not. I'm just taking turns with them and getting you into the feel of this fic. :)

Anyway, let's get this show on the road, shall we?

Hidden Letters

Pairing: eventual Seto/Jou

Warning: hmm... I'll have to think about this one.

Disclaimer: I will prove Yu-Gi-Oh is mine if you can prove Thomas Edison invented Sham-Wow. Yeah, didn't think so.

By the way, sorry about the random _dream_ sequence, I just felt like it, okay? Gosh!

* * *

Chapter Three: Invisible Words

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"_Shut the hell up you pathetic asswipe."  
_"_YOU shut the hell up!"_

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"_One potato, two potato, three potato, four. Five potato, six pota—"_

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"_I need some female friends."  
_"_I think Honda does too!"  
_"_Jounouchi!"_

Beep. Beep. Be—.

Jounouchi pounded on the snooze button of his annoyingly loud alarm clock.

He begrudgingly got up from his bed to retreat to the bathroom. He didn't feel like going to school today. He was annoyed, exhausted, annoyed, in pain, annoyed, disoriented, and did I mention annoyed? He was too distracted by his thoughts to even pay any attention to the clothes he was putting on to wear to school. He looked at himself in the mirror and saw the mess that was his face. He had dried-up drool on his face near his mouth, his hair was a messy mop, and he desperately needed to go shopping some day. But he wasn't paying much attention to these things; he only cared about one thing.

'What the hell happened?'

* * *

"Jou, you look terrible." Honda said to him once he entered their first period classroom.  
"Thanks." He answered simply. He was worrying the others, particularly, a certain tri-color-haired boy.  
"Jounouchi-kun, are you feeling okay? You seem a bit... downcast."  
"Yeah, it's just... I lost my... pencil." He answered. The group shared skeptical looks.  
"Your pencil?" Anzu asked. She then broke out laughing. Soon enough, everyone else followed, including Jounouchi.

"M-My pencil wasn't in my backpack and I searched everywhere in my room. It's gone."  
"Is _that_ why you look so terrible?" Honda wondered.  
"No. After I gave up on looking for it, I started heading over here. Then I slipped and fell. Turns out my pencil fell out of my pocket yesterday when I was going home, and it was still there this morning. I slipped on it."  
"You should really pay attention to where your stepping, Jou-kun." Yugi advised. "And you can use one of mine if you still need one."  
"Thanks, Yug, I think I will."

"Well, now that we've solved the mystery of the lost pencil, can we talk about something interesting?"  
"Oh! I heard someone found the locker!" Anzu said impatiently. "You know the magic one? Yeah! I heard it's in the principal's office. And the principal wasn't even the one who found it! It was the janitor! Ha!"  
"What?" Everyone in the entire class turned. They had heard her only because she screamed the news. Now everyone was upset, but eager to get a one-way ticket to the principal's office.

The class began soon after. Yugi would steal glances at Jou. He didn't quite believe the story of the missing pencil and he wanted to figure out what was bothering his friend. Ever so often, when Yugi looked, he would see that the blond looked... disturbed.

What could be making Jounouchi so uneasy?  
He decided to put it aside for later.

Jou's attention span began to waiver so to try to keep himself from falling asleep, (last time he did that, he went the whole day with the drawing of a mustache under his nose. He didn't know about it until he saw himself in the mirror at home!) he pulled out his sketchpad and began doodling on it.

He heard the teacher say something about an assignment. They had to write a creative piece. Jounouchi didn't want the teacher to be able to tell whether he was doing the assignment or not, so, he pulled out one of his notebooks with lined paper and began to write stuff down—or at least look like it.

After school, Jounouchi headed off with the gang to the movies. It was Friday afternoon and they wanted to have a good time for the rest of the day.

Meanwhile, Seto Kaiba was trotting late to his locker. He had stayed after school to speak with the principal, who had called him down during the last period. He hurriedly placed his things inside, while opening the compartment latch to retrieve the diary. He wasn't sure what he was going to do about it. All it was, was an old diary with some random story started on the very first page, which he'd continued out of suspense.

He rushed to his car and drove to his mansion, deciding to not work today. He actually didn't feel like working today and since he's the boss, he needn't call in. When he got there, he received a warm welcome from his little brother then went up to his office, not at all intending to work.

As he sat down in his chair, he placed the notebook in front of him, eager to continue his story. He opened it up to the second page and found himself with widened eyes, shocked.

There was writing after what he had written. _In the same writing as the owner's on the first page._ Kaiba didn't know what, or how, to react to this. Was this notebook truly the one from Harry Potter? Is this a notebook that writes back to you? Is he hallucinating?

He could only wonder as he began to read the suspicious writing...

_A Poem of Longing_

_It's been so long since she saw him._

_She longed to hear his voice,_

_To feel she was protected,_

_She wished she had that choice._

_Every hour of every day,_

_She felt she was in pain._

_And each time she started crying,_

_The sky began to rain._

_She missed him, loved him, trusted him,_

_To stay forever by her side._

_But now all she could do was remember_

_As her heart's desire was denied._

_Whoever is writing in my notebook, could you please at least not write on a page that's already written on? And don't read my stuff. It's private._

He was awed by the poem but even more shocked that the notebook had addressed him. He answered:

_Sure._

He didn't know what to feel. He was surprised to find writing there. He was confused about how this could be. And he just agreed to obey the request of a notebook. This was all just confusing for him.

* * *

And yes, I wrote that poem myself. I bet I just answered your question before you could ask it didn't I? Well, that's it for this chapter! I know it's not as long as you would like but I just can't think right now so know it's just gonna have to be this long for now, okay? Don't kill me, please! PLEASE REVIEW!


	4. The Coincidence

Bonjour, mes amis! Comment allez-vous? Je suis très, très bien! Anyway, the fourth chapter is here, baby! Yeah! I felt bad that I took so long with the third chapter and I feel even worse that I took so long with this one. I promise I'll try to be faster. Kinda. And I'm loving the reviews I'm getting so yay me! Lol. Oh... whatever.. let's get it on!

Oh, and to those who are wondering, yesterday (5/27/10) was my senior breakfast at school and it was awesome! I was so nervous because I had to read the senior poem (which by the way I wrote) and I was so nervous beforehand. The funny thing is all the nerves went away once I was standing up there. Weird. Okay, NOW lets go on to the story...

Hidden Letters

Pairing: eventual Seto/Jou ... how? Well keep reading

Warning: notebook-bashing, Anzu-bashing, mystic mumbo-jumbo...you get the idea

Disclaimer: Actually, you know what? The other day I went to Japan for the heck of it, found Kazuki Takahashi, and bought his ownership of Yu-Gi-Oh! The only problem is that when I woke up, I fell off the bed, hit my head, had amnesia for the rest of the week and sold the ownership back to him. (Yeah. I didn't get it either.)

* * *

_Chapter Four: The Coincidence_

He was walking down the dark street, just reflecting on the past couple of weeks. So much had happened and he didn't know where to start. The diary had gradually become his obsession and he hated himself for it. The damn thing was just too interesting! Curse the person whose diary it was!

Needless to say, his "relationship" (if you could call it that) with the mysterious notebook had caused the notebook to little by little be filled up with written conversation. It was like writing letters without having to send them because they were written in the same notebook.

Kaiba began to wonder if someone was messing with him, but that wouldn't be possible since the secret compartment is in _his_ locker and no one—not even the school's staff—knew his locker combination. So he had to accept it—though reluctantly—that this had to be some kind of magic.

He reached the end of the street and turned the corner to face the street he lived on. He only took lonesome walks like this when he needed to think about serious things, even if this wasn't as serious, he wanted to sort his thoughts out and it worked.

He would go back to the mansion and write another letter to the owner of the diary, whom he had come to know as "Fushi", simply because he shortened 'Fushigi na nōto' (Mysterious Notebook). When he reached the front of his mansion, he simply stared up at the home. It looked quite scary in the dark, especially with some lights on here and there. It was also intimidating and isolated and cold. Much like he himself.

As he slowly entered the grounds, he realized something perhaps he'd never thought about before. Since he had found the notebook, he had come to understand himself better than he ever had. Maybe this obsession was a good thing.

He unlocked the door and walked inside and upstairs to his office. He sat behind his desk and slid the notebook closer to him. He read all of the letters they had exchanged over time. He opened it to the page dated _May 21st_ that read...

_Shingaisha _(Intruder)_,_

_I think you should face these issues instead of running away from them. You mentioned in your last letter that you always seek to forget the past, but what is the point of that? You only have two options of dealing with this. You can either run from it, or learn from it; and one of them, you've already tried and failed._

_My point is you'll never know until you try. Even if all doesn't go as planned, at least you will never regret never trying._

_As for me, I'm still a wonderer, lost in a sea of faces._

_I hope my advice can help you finally go through with it. You and I both know that I'm right. If you truly want to do this, you will have to. But if you try to forget your past without learning from it first, then you will never receive your heart's true desire._

He contemplated over that thought. What was Fushi talking about? And how would he know what he desperately desires? He rubbed his temples, for a headache was starting to press over his thoughts. He stood up and headed to his room to change into his pajamas. He hoped some sleep would help sort his thoughts out, and make the oncoming headache go away.

A few days ago it was announced that the rumor that the locker that was found by the janitor in the principal's office was proved untrue. And the school's students and teachers alike went berserk looking for it all over again.

It was starting to annoy even Jounouchi.

"Why do people even need this thing anyway? If ya ask me, if ya want something, ya gotta work for it, earn it, that sorta thing."  
Kaiba had heard and glanced away from the notebook he was writing in, and over at the mutt and his friends.  
Jounouchi crossed his arms and pouted. "Hmph. Lazy _asses_." He finished.  
"That includes you too, you know." The blond heard a familiar voice say from his left. He glared in his direction but ignored him.

"...I still wonder what would be in that locker if I found it." Tristan said. Jou faced him.  
"It'd probably be a bunch of pornos... or maybe a certain green-eyed person."  
This made the other blush and turn away. Everyone laughed except Tristan and Kaiba.

To find Jounouchi Katsuya in the library was to find Kaiba Seto at a Ballet Recital; the two just don't mix. So, when he was seen inside the school library, it was odd. He sat at one of the tables in the far right, away from everyone, reading and writing. He needed to get away from distractions and this was the perfect place to get that.

The only problem was the biggest distraction ever had just walked into the library and was now coming in his direction. He hastily put his things away and pretended to read the book he had in front of him.

"Why bother with that? You know better than anyone that mutts can't read."  
Jou growled and attempted to ignore the brunet, but he began to talk again.  
"Growling only proves that you are, indeed, a mutt." He smirked.  
Jounouchi was now gritting his teeth. He did not want to be thrown out of the library again for yelling at this guy and he knew Kaiba was only baiting him.

Instead of yelling it, he whispered it so only Kaiba could hear, "Fuck you." He stood up and left.

It wasn't the words he said that surprised the brunet; it was the fact that he had whispered the words. He attempted to ignore the words that seemed to echo in his head as he sat down at the recently vacated table and pulled out his laptop. He began to look through his email, but found no new messages. Sighing, he closed said laptop, stored it back in his briefcase, and pulled out Fushi's Diary. He flipped to the last letter written. The date was _May 27th _and it read:

_Shingaisha,_

_I guess not. You do have a good point, but I still stand by what I said before. Just remember one thing I tell myself all the time:_

_Instead of giving myself reasons why I can't, I give myself reasons why I can._

_Why is it that people only remember the bad things that happen in life? When we get complimented and encouraged, we only live happily for the moment, but when we are condemned or criticized, those words remain with us forever. Why is that?_

_My life's ambition was to be all that I can, without anyone telling me otherwise. I have never allowed myself to have distractions. I blame myself only for the things I did to myself. For example, I am with fault that I never found a person to share my life with. I never found love._

He picked up his pen and flipped the page to answer.

_Fushi,_

_You are not unlike me. I busy myself all the time, not allowing myself to be distracted from other things and other people. I don't know what love is, to be perfectly honest. What is love? _(Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more. Lol sorry...) _Is love something you can see? I truly believe I'm not worthy of such a thing, such a distraction, such a..._

He had stopped writing because Jounouchi had returned to the table and was now glaring at him once again. Kaiba covered the page and watched as the blond moved over towards him, bent over and brushed his arm against his leg. He had come back to grab his jacket, which he had left in his haste to leave. Without a word, he returned to the exit and left. Kaiba tried to continue his thought but found himself distracted by that brief encounter. He simply began a new sentence.

_There's this weird feeling that I don't recognize, each time I see him. It's like swirls in the pit of my stomach. When I so much as hear his name, I get all jittery and don't know why. And to add to that, he is my rival, my opposite._

He closed the notebook and set it aside for a while. He couldn't think straight anymore. He put his head down and closed his eyes. Before he knew better, the bell rang, signaling to the students that fourth period was going to start in five minutes. He packed everything but the notebook, grabbed it, and left to his locker.

He placed aforementioned notebook inside the compartment of his locker and quickly stalked to class.

* * *

Well that's it! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It took me a VERY long time to write, as you well know, and I'm really tired from all these plans going on. Thank you for staying with me! Please review. PLEASE!


	5. Denial

Konnichi wa mina-tachi! I am here again to happily deliver to you the fifth chapter. But before we get this show on the road, I would just like to let everyone know... I FINALLY GRADUATED! I know! It's so exciting! I was so relieved afterward. But then we were to head to the all-nighter party thing. It was alright, could have been better (most everyone was grinding up against each other whenever they played the music appropriate to that type of "dancing"). But other than that, I thought it was fun. Oh and *looks around paranoid* I won $30. Plus $50 I got from my grandma as a grad present and $2 I already had. Yup! Well I won't fill the intro with graduation details (although I think it's too late) so I'll just say...

I'm skipping all the usual stuff I put after this. No one cares anyway. Lol.

Although I will say this:

Pairing: IF YOU'RE THIS FAR INTO THE STORY AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHO THE DAMN PAIRING IS THEN YOU EITHER SHOULD STOP READING NOW AND LEAVE THE WEBSITE FOR GOOD UNTIL YOU FIGURE IT OUT ON YOUR OWN OR YOU CAN REREAD THE STORY FROM THE BEGINNING AND FIND OUT! That is all. :)

Enjoy the fifth chapter!

* * *

_Chapter Five: Denial_

Jounouchi was smirking. He couldn't help it! There are only two kinds of people in his opinion: those who are ignorant and those who are oblivious. And both go hand in hand.

It seemed his face was glued into this smirk because he wore it the entire day without it coming off. It was frustrating even the great Kaiba Seto because he couldn't find the right insults for a person who was smirking all day. To him it felt like he knew something no one else did and he's waiting for someone to ask him about it.

Kaiba himself was even tempted to find out, but didn't want the mutt to think he defeated his curiosity. That wouldn't go unpunished. In fact, it might actually backfire. So instead, he attempted to ignore him, and avoid eye contact with him at all costs. It was the only way his curiosity wouldn't kill him.

After a full day of a smirking mutt, Kaiba was sitting on his bed with his back against a few pillows and his legs stretched out on the bed. He had Fushi's notebook in his hands and was preparing to read the answer to his letter from the day before. He took a deep breath as he opened it to the page dated _June 3_ and read what Fushi had to say.

_Shingaisha,_

_I wouldn't know of any other way of telling you this because, well, I don't think there is any other way. Using my experience and studies of human behavior, I would say that judging by your descriptions of your feelings and of how your body reacts, I will tell you you are in love._

He stopped reading any further. He was too shocked to be able to read any more than that. He sat there, eyes widened as he pictured himself at school all those moments he had encountered the blond whom the notebook was claiming he _loved_. All those times he insulted him and baited him for trouble, all those times he actually _sought_ him out to pick on him; it made him think about the myth that all boys pick on girls they like.

Before even thinking, he yelled "Ren'aichu no Boku dekinai! Nai! (1)"

There was no way in his right mind he could ever love such an imbecile as the one that wore his smirk all day today at school. Or the same person that couldn't duel his way out of a paper bag. No! Not the guy who got all sticky and sweaty in gym class, was shirtless for the most part of it, and who he enjoyed watching when he played basketball. That hot blond that looked sexy with sweaty hair and looked damn hot in the shower could come nowhere near his heart, let alone tamper with his emotions.

_Damn_, he thought as he mentally smacked himself. That was it. He was to take a nice, cool shower to calm him down and then finish reading the forsaken letter. But then the thought of needing a shower only confirmed it more that he was, indeed, in love. He wore a dark red blush as he gave himself yet another mental smack, only harder.

As if really feeling the impact, he rubbed his cheek softly as he entered his bathroom.

* * *

When their teacher, Tsumetai-Sensei, mentioned something about a project due at the end of the year, she received whines from most of the class. She attempted to calm everyone down but they just seemed to get more rowdy.

Getting desperate, she went behind her desk, opened her drawer, and pulled out her special-occasion silencing device. Not long after, a deafening high-pitched screech sounded throughout the classroom. Everyone was immediately brought to silence with the ringing from the whistle still in their ears long after the intruding sound was gone.

Kaiba looked unaffected, Jou looked annoyed, and Yugi was still covering his ears. Anzu and Tristan were copying him. The teacher, oblivious to the hurting students, then proceeded telling the class about the project.

"Since the unit we are learning is creative writing, I am assigning you a project in which you will write five pieces, write an interpretation for each one, and present two of them to the class. In order to get any kind of credit, you _are_ required to present in front of the class."

"Aww, man!" Jou whined loudly. Kaiba glanced over at him quickly. The blond was pouting cutely, staring down at his sketchpad with his arms crossed and slouching in his desk.

This made the brunet smile internally_. He looks roughly like a little puppy with that look_, Kaiba thought.

* * *

"Pleeeeeeease!" Jounouchi begged, "C'mon, Yug, you're my best bud!"  
"Jou-kun, I am your best friend. Therefore I know when to let you manipulate me and when not to. And this is one of those times." Yugi answered.

"Oh, stop complaining, Jounouchi, it aint the end of the world!" Tristan pointed out. "I mean, look, sensei said to write some creative pieces. At least she wasn't specific! Just write the easiest creative thing ever invented."  
"What? A To-Do List?" Jou asked hopefully.  
Anzu laughed. "Nai, baka hitotsu no shi!" (2)  
"Oh." Jou sighed and looked distraught. He's never written a poem before. A few seconds passed. "Oh!" He shouted, remembering a poem he had written before, but hadn't finished.

He charged home, not telling his friends where he was off to. "Jounouchi! Where the hell are y—"

"Just leave him be." Anzu sighed. "Well, I'll see you later, guys. I'm off to work." She blew a kiss Yugi's way and headed in the other direction.

Yugi simply watched her leave. He was a living ball of confusion. Did he like Anzu, or did he like Yami? The world may never know. (lol)

* * *

Jounouchi reached his house and stopped before entering. He needed to catch his breath. He then walked in, yelling "Taidama!" and stalked straight to his room after receiving a distant "konnichi wa musuko!" from his father.

He pulled out his now raggedy and doodle-filled notepad and ripped a page out of it. He stared down at it and smiled. He could finish this poem and get some ideas off of it for the other four.

* * *

(1) I can't be in love! No!

(2) No, idiot, a poem!

Ahh, I just love adding Japanese to my stories, don't you? ^-^

By the way, Tsumetai, as used as the teacher's name, actually means cold-hearted. So when used as Tsumetai-sensei, she's both Tsumetai because that's her name, and she's "the cold-hearted teacher" Lol.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Technically there wasn't any interaction between our stars of the story, but you got to see how Kaiba's reacting to him and the gang was more included in this chapter. I felt I've been ignoring them so I wanted to put them somewhere.

Well, time for me to go write the sixth chapter! And... *giggles* ... because Kaiba has been told he is in love, he's going through stages of acceptance, as you might notice by the titles of this chapter and the next four. So, without further ado, it is my pleasure to inform you that the title of the sixth chapter will be... Anger. Oooooh! Watch out, Jounouchi. It's time for Kaiba Seto to become angry! You won't like him when he's angry!

PLEASE REVIEW! :)


	6. Anger

Guess who's back, back again. Yugi(16dm) is back... tell a friend! I summoned a chapter, 'cause nobody wants to read the others no more, they want this one, those are chopped liver. Well if ya want a new one this is what I'll give ya: a bit of yaoi fanfiction of Seto & Jounouchi. Some fanfics that drag on and on duller than the crap on that poor sap's Willowsnake account or the gasps in her fanbase when she loses a review or the gaps in her schedule when she's got nothing new! (HEY!) You waited this long, now stop debating 'cause I'm back, it's time to read, and ideas need trading. You may think the chaps are decelerating, but my mind, it seems, aint cooperating. ^-^

_I love you Willowsnake!_ :)

Yeah... random intro. Just so no one starts flaming me, I completely respect Willowsnake and her stories. In fact, I'm reading one right this second. So don't get all mad. And if you haven't read any of her fics, now's the time to. SHE'S AN AWESOME WRITER! ^-^

The sixth chapter... makes me so happy to know that this fic is going to be longer than my fics usually are. *weeps* Oh and thanks to all of you for the reviews and sorry I haven't gotten to replying to them... I'm a busy person. v.v and I'm sorry it took me much longer to update... I just have severe writer's block... plus, I've been getting ideas for other stories and they're so fresh and I don't want to forget about them so... I'M JUST SO SORRY! I love you! X3

I now give you the sixth chapter. Enjoy!

Note: I've changed the rating of my story to M for obscenities, such as foul language. I don't want to be reprimanded by people who are offended by dirty mouths. (And now I have that Orbit commercial in my head)

_Chapter Six: Anger_

"FIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGHHHHHTTTTTTT!" Some random teenager yelled down the hallways of the school. It certainly caught everyone's attention and they were all now running after him, following him to the site of the fight.

It wasn't a very wise idea if you wanted to watch the fight because then teachers would find out about it too and would break it up. Stupid. When the teachers arrived and looked to separate the two students, they suddenly understood and weren't at all surprised anymore. They didn't even bother to _try_ to separate them.

They were Jounouchi and Kaiba.

"Bakayarō!" Jou yelled.

"Oh that's very clever, mutt. Did you think of that all by yourself?"

"You—" He took off running towards the brunet and swung a fist that he easily dodged. He smirked in response.

"Now," he began, "let me show you what it's supposed to be like." And he quickly connected his fist with the blonde's stomach.

Jou soon fell to the ground, doubling over in pain as Kaiba simply watched him with a glare. As he saw the pained look in the other's eyes the brunet suddenly felt a sickening remorse. It was so emotionally painful, he had to get away from there so no one could hear the oncoming self-insults or see the forming tears.

"How dare you attack him and then just run off?" He heard a voice call out. It was Tristan's, who he was cut off his path by, holding out his arms to his sides so as to block Kaiba from passing.

"Saru!" Kaiba yelled. A moment passed and Tristan remained in place. "I said get the fuck out of my way!"

He ran at Tristan and forcibly pushed him aside, causing him to fall to the ground also. He ran passed him, ignoring the curses coming from behind. He had to get the hell out of there before he did anything worse.

Quickly, he found his car, got in, and took off before he could even think, racing through the traffic to his mansion. Everyone watched as he left.

"Daijōbu (are you okay), Jounouchi-kun?" Yugi shouted in the blond's ear.

"Yeah, Yug," He said, standing up slowly, "ya don't gotta talk so loudly though."

"Gomen." The boy answered.

Jounouchi walked away from the group, staring into the direction Kaiba's car had headed.

"If every time we've fought wasn't random, that time surely was. I mean, what the hell were we fighting about anyway?" He asked himself.

-.o.0.o.-

Kaiba was outraged, if his newfound broken cell phone was any indication. There was no way he was in love with someone he always fought with. There was just no way. He punched the wall. And slowly brought his fist back to him with a grimace on his face. That hurt.

Trying to ignore the pain, he took out the notebook he now loathed and opened it to a new page. He wrote in angry writing:

_Fushi,_

_You're just fucking with me aren't you?_

That was the only cohesive thing his mind could form. He slammed the notebook shut, threw the pen half away across the room, and stomped his way out. This required an expert's opinion.

-.o.0.o.-

"...so let me get this straight..." The raven-haired child said thoughtfully, "...you found a magic notebook that talks back to you and it told you you fell in love and now you're mad cuz you don't deserve to be loved?"

Kaiba decided asking Mokuba wasn't the best choice after all.

"No..!" He shouted impatiently. "That's not what I said at all! I said I found a notebook that _writes_ back to me and on one such occasion, it suggested I was in love based on what I wrote. But that can't be right can it? I mean, just because I feel disoriented and light-headed whenever they're near me and I get a weird feeling in my stomach every time they talk to me, it doesn't mean I'm in love! That's just stupid! I'm a fucking imbecile to have allowed a fucking notebook to get the better of me. Fucking idiot!"

"Seto, calm down! W-why are you being like that?" Mokuba asked hesitantly.

"Like what?" His older brother turned on him. "What the fuck am I acting like, huh? There's nothing fucking wrong with me!"

Mokuba backed away from him slightly as he said softly, "You don't normally talk like this. You're swearing like a drunken sailor. What is going on with you?"

This action calmed the other all the way down. He was scaring Mokuba. _He_, the only person left to his brother, was scaring the living daylights out of the very person who was trying to help him. He kicked himself for it, literally.

"Damn, that hurt!" He winced as he limped away. He didn't want to say anything else to his brother that might hurt him. He was already scared enough as it is. "Where are you going?" Mokuba called after him.

"I don't want to hurt you." was his reply as he disappeared behind his bedroom door, leaving Mokuba confused.

He then went to the notebook and wrote...

_Fushi,_

_Sorry about what I said above. I'm just... having a hard time with what you wrote. I would've just scribbled it out or something but you probably might still be able to see it so I didn't bother. Listen, I just want to know this: how can you be so sure I'm... in love? I mean, I'm not used to this kind of thing. What do I do? Ever since I read what you said, all I've been doing is lashing out at everyone. How should I react to this?_

He finished and began working on Kaiba Corp-related stuff.

Jou was exhausted. He'd spent the entirety of the night working on five measly poems. And he still had to figure out which two he was going to present in class. The only reason he was working on it now was because he knew he was going to forget about it so rather than procrastinate, he was doing it now and then he was going to leave it in his locker at school. That way it won't get trashed in his backpack.

He looked at the clock and found that he could at least take a twenty-minute nap. He did so. After what felt like 2 minutes later, but really wasn't, his alarm went off and he grudgingly got up, turned it off and got ready for school. He then left to said destination. As he reached the entrance and walked on to his locker, he noticed a disheveled-looking brunet. He grew curious.

"Hey, Kaiba, what the hell happened to ya? Ya look like ya got ran over by a semi truck—more than once." The other gave him a half-hearted glare and fixed his hair some. He then answered,

"That's none of your concern, mutt. On the other hand, you yourself look like something that came out of the ass of a monkey." He smirked as he received a growl.

"In fact, you look like the cross between a Kuriboh and a Swamp Battle Guard... only much uglier."

"And _you_ look like the cross between a baboon and a... and a..." Jounouchi couldn't think as he scowled at him and watched the brunet walk away. "Grrr... Fu—dge!" He yelled as he stomped the rest of the way to his locker.

He put in his late-night work and took out his necessary materials—a few pencils, his notebook, his sketchpad, a few mints, and his "trusty" mirror, which he used occasionally on tests. He closed his locker and headed to class.

"Are you serious?" Tristan and Jounouchi shouted together.

"Yes, I'm serious. Now, if you would so kindly—"

"No!" She was interrupted by the unexpected shout. She turned to face her new challenger. "I am _not_ partnering up with that _mutt_!"

She narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice so that only he could hear her. "You _will_ do so... unless you want the next thing you see to be the outskirts of hell... What do you say to that, Mr. Kaiba?"

The brunet took a large gulp and gave in to his sensei. "Fine."

She straightened herself and gave a bright smile, as if never having threatened anyone with anything worse than a five-minute detention. "Good," She said innocently. "Now, everyone is to partner up with the person I assigned you and will go over which poem you'll read together. It's called getting feedback; you'll have to get accustomed to receiving criticism for your work. Now... into your groups!" She commanded.

The class scampered off to their respective partners and Jou found himself walking over to his brunet rival and sitting in a nearby empty desk. They sat in silence... or so Kaiba hoped. He felt he was talking aloud because his thoughts were racing. He hoped none of his thoughts had been accidently said. A good ten minutes passed and still they sat in complete silence. Tristan looked over now and again with a smirk crawling onto his face every time.

_These guys look like they're about to pop_, he thought.

"Hey, our papers are over here, not on Jounouchi's head. Pay attention?" Duke complained.

Tristan whispered, "...I'm just enjoying the show." When Duke looked confused, he nodded towards the other two silent students, telling Duke who he referred to.

Five minutes passed and Jou suddenly felt bored. He took out his notebook and started writing mindless sentences, eventually starting to doodle in places. Kaiba wasn't paying attention anymore. His thoughts had become so overwhelming that he'd shut his mind off completely.

One particular thought—or thoughts— was part of the reason he decided to shut himself off. It went something like: _I can't believe this. It can't be a coincidence. I bet that stupid Fushigi na nōto planned this. It's the only explanation... me... in love with that?_ He had looked up at Jounouchi at this point and then back down. _Okay, I have to admit, he does look really cute when he's upset. And he looks a bit frustrated too. I wonder if later on he's gonna use that frustration in gym class and be all sweaty and hot and then he'd have to take a nice, long shower. He always looks so damn hot in the shower... Mmmm... and then he's all naked too and I can see everything... oh god not now! Go away! Go away! Go away! Okay I need to stop it... maybe stop thinking period. Yeah..._

At that point, he had been fidgeting in his seat ever so slightly, trying to get his 'problem' to recede.

_Oh gods, please help me... this is going to be a bad day, I can tell. Just... don't let watashi no koinu find out what's going on over here!

* * *

_

And... that's it! The end of this chapter, though, not the story! How many of you are hoping Jou notices or noticed Kaiba's "situation"? XD How many are mad about the way something turned out? Haha.. don't worry... everything happens for a reason, at least in my stories they do! I always pre-plan things. So... anything you want to see happen before everything comes down? There are still a couple chapters until the last one, I'm just asking. Like if you'd like to see something happen while these two aren't together yet. Like some sort of mishap?

Oh and... I read my story over and thought: Hey! Where's Mokuba? So I put him in a rather small part with a few lines, but he's in here. Now no one can say _where's Mokuba?_ :) Alrighty then. Once again, I apologize that it took me so long to update but I just couldn't think. I started writing this chapter right after I uploaded chapter five so you can imagine how badly I feel since I'm just uploading it today. Anyway, please review! Tell me what you thought, what you liked and/or didn't like, what you'd like to see happen, etc! If you have a good idea, I might just input it into my story... and I'll even acknowledge you! (as long as you want me to, of course) ^-^

Review please!


	7. Negotiation

Well hello there. So nice of you to drop in. You are now reading the introduction for the seventh chapter of my story. I'm happy you are still interested in what happens and will gladly provide you with the continuing chapter. :)

Now first before anything, I'd like to properly thank Willowsnake (yes the one mentioned in the previous chapter) for providing me with a good idea for this chapter. Because she did so, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to her. ^-^ Yes you read right. Thank you so much, Willowsnake!

Thanks to all of you who review and continue to follow this story. I enjoy reading your comments and they make me laugh. You guys keep me writing! *weep* I promise to satisfy and I'll try to make this a long chapter. Enjoy!

Note to Willowsnake and any others: Should you find any mistakes regarding grammar or spelling, please let me know right away. I will gladly fix them.

_Chapter Seven: Negotiation_

_Mystery,_

_Everyday I see him, my heart skips a beat, my arms and legs tremble under his gaze, and my body goes numb. But I feel that way on days I don't see him as well. I doubt this is love. I don't know much about love, but if that were what this is, wouldn't I be all lovey-dovey, head-over-heels, crazy-obsessive over him? I see all the time how girls act around the boy they like and I know for sure I am not the type to be like that. Wouldn't I be nice and trying to start something? I don't think this is love. Every time I see him, all I want to do is pin him to the ground, to see him upset. Besides, someone like him doesn't deserve someone like me. He deserves much better. But I will tell you what I do like about him. I like his laugh. It's just so full of happiness and content. I wish I felt those things sometimes. I like his face. I've gotten close enough to see it's one of his better features. He seems as if he were touched by an angel. His skin looks so smooth and his hair so delicate. I just want to run my hands through his hair. Sometimes, though not all the time, I like his attitude. He's not afraid of voicing his opinion and it does get a guy going. I like his demeanor. He doesn't have a care in the world what people think about how he acts around them. He's free..._

"What ya got there, Kaiba?" Joey asks, taking the piece of paper Kaiba had been writing on, on the desk in front of him. He hadn't expected to be interrupted like this.  
"Give that back." He demanded.  
"'_Every time I see him, all I want to do is pin him to the ground_'? Haha! What the hell is this Kaiba? Did ya write this?" He asked the brunet, waving the piece of paper in the air in front of him.  
"That's none of your business. Now give it back if you know what's good for you!" Joey laughed and began to read aloud again.  
"'_I just want to run my hands through his hair_'? Jūdai na desu? (Are you serious?)" He was laughing quite loudly now. "I _know_ ya didn't write this. Where'd ya get this?"

Kaiba finally managed to yank it away from him. "I'm not obligated to tell you anything." He said standing up and walking away. He was rewarded with a pencil thrown at the back of his head. The small sound of the pencil making contact with the tile floor echoed throughout the entire classroom, but they were the only two there to hear it.

"Yeah? Well I aint obligated to keep quiet." Joey snatched the paper back and ran away, a furious brunet hot on his tail.  
"Give me that back, Mutt!" Kaiba shouted. He thought a second and said a bit reluctantly, "I'll do whatever you want just give it back!"  
Joey stopped in his tracks, allowing Kaiba to catch up and bump right into him. They both fell to the ground with a small 'oof!'  
"I won't let you blackmail me with that." The brunet said, still on the floor.

"So this _is_ yours?" Joey asked, shocked. Kaiba looked away and said,  
"N-No. I found it. But I won't let you go around saying I did." They stood up.  
"Ya really _did_ write this! So... who are ya talkin about, eh? Who are ya talking about on here? Do ya _like_ someone, kanemochi no otoko no ko." (Rich Boy (kanemochi means Rich and otoko no ko means Boy. Note that 'otoko' by itself means Man))  
"I just said I didn't fucking write it!" Kaiba yelled.

"Deny it all ya want, I believe ya did! And now I'm off to the school newspaper! Ha! Unless..." Joey paused, "Ya said ya'd do whatever I wanted if I gave it back."  
Kaiba felt a dread come over him. He did say that. "Yes, I did. What did you come up with? Tell me and give me that back!"  
Joey pocketed the paper and said, "I think we can negotiate somethin. Hmm..."  
"Just get on with it!" Kaiba said impatiently, "I don't have all day! What do you want?"

"To tomodachi ni naru Yugi-tachi." Joey declared amusedly. Kaiba thought he'd never get that paper back. Why, you might ask? He had to make friends with Yugi and the gang.  
"Hell no!"  
"Same here." Joey said and walked away towards the school exit wearing a smirk on his face. Kaiba groaned and finally gave in.  
"Dōi suru?" (Agreed?)

Joey turned to face him. Kaiba was holding out his hand. He smirked and walked back towards the brunet, taking his hand.  
"Dōi suru." They shook hands.  
"Can I have the paper back now?" Kaiba asked.  
"No." Joey chuckled when Kaiba groaned in annoyance. "Mada nai (Not yet). Ya need to fulfill your end of the bargain." Joey watched as Kaiba stormed away angrily.

He was going to enjoy being in control for a change. And seeing Kaiba's attempt to befriend everyone would be a good laugh.

—.o.0.o.—

Everyone was staring. And not just Yugi, Yami, Marik, Malik, Ryou, Bakura, Tristan, Duke, and Téa either. It was everyone in the damn cafeteria, including the lunch ladies and teachers. Everyone was staring... at Seto Kaiba. Joey might have been the only one not surprised like everyone else.

Seto Kaiba had sat down to share his lunch time with the Geek Patrol—and act all friendly and shit, as Kaiba would say. He was regretting it, but he had to do it if he didn't want Joey to blackmail him with the letter he had pre-written before writing it in the notebook. He was mad at himself for doing it now. In truth, he was quite surprised the blond had believed him that he hadn't written it, considering he had the paper in front of him and a pencil in his hand.

After nearly everyone's eyes were off of the brunet, Joey spoke up. "Yo, Kaiba, ya gonna eat that brownie?" Everyone turned to him. Joey was eyeing the exposed brownie on the brunet's tray. The tension around the table was thick enough to cut with a knife.

Kaiba picked up the brownie and threw it to the blond, who caught it with a smile. "Thanks!" Joey said brightly. Everyone watched as Joey opened the package and began chowing down on the chocolaty dessert. They seemed to be shocked and confused. The two that were getting along at the table were the two who never got along.

"Why ich ewyone cho kwiet?" Joey asked around the brownie in his mouth. He swallowed.  
"... what's Kaiba-yarō doing sitting here?" Bakura whispered to Joey sitting next to him.  
Joey snickered. "Why are ya asking me?"  
"Because you seem to be the only one who's not traumatized right now." answered Ryou. Kaiba glared.

"I'm sitting here in protest, not because I want to. Joey here," He indicated the blond, "thinks he can control me by trying to blackmail me. But I'm here so that won't happen."  
"Doesn't he realize that he's already being blackmailed into sitting with us?" Duke whispered to Tristan, who still seemed out of it in shock.  
Joey laughed with a full mouth of food. "Kaiba," He spat, "is here because he wants to be friends with all of us. I said he could hang out with us and that's what he's gonna do from now on." Kaiba's eyes widened.  
"What—chwuh?" Kaiba began to talk but was unceremoniously shut up, having a huge piece of his own celery stuffed into his mouth. All he could do was chew.

After that, everyone at the table laughed, except Kaiba of course who was hating every second spent with them. Although, he had to admit, it was quite nice being part of a group and spending time with his love—that is to say, his current _interest_. He was still in denial. _I am not in love with this Mutt!_

A few days passed and everyone, excluding a few, was used to Kaiba's presence at lunchtime. In fact, they were used to his presence period, since it wasn't only at lunchtime that he hung around. Kaiba kept himself quiet at times, but he'd be brought into their conversations by the blond who'd gotten him in this mess.

The two of them barely argued while they were together, surprisingly. When they did, it wasn't as hate-filled. It was a good-natured argument about commonly-debated topics. Kaiba, though he still hated being around so many people like this, had gotten used to being around them. He learned a lot about everyone, including Joey. He felt himself starting to like him as a person to be around, as a friend. And that only further deepened his feelings for him. But one thing did annoy him a bit. He hadn't gotten to write in the notebook for a while and he vaguely wondered if the notebook could take being ignored.

He couldn't get away from the gang. The only time he had time to himself was at work. And even there he had to deal with people. He received a phone call and picked up the phone. It was Joey. He was to meet him and the others in front of Yugi's place before 4. He went home and got ready.

They were at the amusement park, together in line to get on a roller-coaster. At least, everyone but Kaiba and Joey were. The two of them had a mutual fear: heights. So instead, they sat on the bench close to the line for the roller coaster as they waited for _their_ friends to get on and off the ride. Yes, they were mutual friends.

The awkward silence between the two got the best of Joey.  
"So, uhh, since when have ya been afraid of heights?" he asked.  
Kaiba turned and said, "Ever since I can remember. What about you?"  
"Ever since... well, it aint important." Kaiba was interested now.  
"Since when?"

"Well... fine, I'll tell ya. But don't laugh 'cause that was a really traumatic experience for me." Kaiba nodded silently. "Alright then. This one time, when I was about six, my mom and dad brought me and my sister to an amusement park that used to be in Kyoto. Well, I wanted to go on the rollercoaster so I ran in line, not waitin for any of them. I got on and they stayed behind to watch.

Then the thing took off and I was all excited. I was jumpin in my seat and everythin. Then the car started goin up the hill. Then we went down the hill and through all those tunnels and things. Then all of a sudden there was some problem and the coaster stopped right when we were going on the loop. We were stuck upside down.

And then I felt my seatbelt get loose and I was hangin onto the bar. I looked down and we were so high up and I was really scared. I could hear my mom screamin my name and all I was thinkin was 'hold on, hold on'. There were people below who were screamin too and it only made me more scared.

Then the car shook and started movin again but I was still hangin on. My grip slipped and I started fallin. My dad ran and caught me at the last second. To this day, I've never been on them death traps again. That's part of the reason that park was closed."

When Joey finished, Kaiba noticed he was shaking a bit from the memory. He wanted to say something to make him feel better but he didn't know what. He himself was a bit shaken by the story.  
"Hey, are you thirsty?" Kaiba asked suddenly, trying to get his mind off of it.  
Joey looked at him and said, "Yeah, let's go get something." They left the bench and found a food stall where they each bought an Icee. They drank/ate their cold delight in silence.  
When they finished, Joey began walking to one of his many favorite rides: the Tilt O' Whirl. "Yo, Kaiba, wanna have a go?"

Kaiba stared at him and had a sudden revelation. He was at the amusement park with Joey. He was at the amusement park _alone _with Joey, being nice, and having a good time. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't help but picture everything as if it were some kind of date.

"Uhh, s-sure." He answered and headed with him. They went on. They soon found themselves going on ride after ride together. When they came out of the Fun House, they found everyone was waiting for them near the exit.  
"Oops! We forgot about everyone else! Haha!" Joey exclaimed amusedly. "Sorry guys!" He shouted to them. "How long have ya been looking for us?"  
"Oh, about an hour or so!" Tristan yelled.  
Yugi wore a cute smile as he said, "Don't worry about it, Jounouchi-kun. At least you had fun, right?" Joey nodded and looked at Kaiba. He had a little smile himself. The blond smirked and took out his camera.

A flash of light caused the brunet to look in Joey's direction, where he found him to be holding a camera.  
"Got ya!" He declared.  
"What did you do?"  
"I caught ya smiling!"  
"I wasn't smiling! ...I-I had a muscle spasm!"  
"Ha!"

—.o.0.o.—

They reached Domino and Kaiba headed home, eager to take a shower and have a nice long nap. But just as he was going to find some clean boxers, he spotted the notebook and found it too tempting to resist.

He jumped on the bed happily and found a pen. _Holy shit, I'm a Geek Patrol geek._ He thought bitterly as he got up off the bed and walked over to where he was. He then walked back to the bed and calmly sat on the bed. _There. _(Lol. How many of you have done something and then re-did it because you didn't like how you did it the first time? I've done that several times!)

He felt much better about himself, having re-done how he got on the bed. He opened the notebook and began to write.

_Fushigi na nōto,_

_I had the most awesome day today. I spent the whole day with him. We have started getting along, weirdly enough, and I'm liking every second I'm around him. The only sad part is it'll all be over once I get my hashirigaki _(letter)_ back. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know I might not be writing as much now, because I have other things to do. Just letting you know, for future reference._

He got up and went to the shower with a smile.

When he finished, he got in bed and shut his eyes. But instead of falling asleep, memories of the day's events flashed in his mind. He couldn't help but smile as he could hear Joey screaming earlier that day as they—Joey, Ryou, Bakura, and he—went down the water slide in the four-person raft.

He couldn't believe he was actually having fun. Had it not been for that agreement he made with the blond, he'd have never had so much fun or learned so much about him. He almost didn't hate them anymore. But then a sickening sadness came over him when he thought that maybe it would all be over once he got that paper back.

And now that he thought about it, he had completed his mission. He was now friends with them. He could get his paper back. He was a tad glad that it was Friday. On the other hand, he was upset tomorrow wasn't a school day because he really wanted that note back.

He put the thoughts and feelings in the back of his mind as he found himself drifting to sleep.

A few miles away, Joey found himself thinking about Kaiba and how he'd fulfilled his promise. Joey had come to like this more fun side of the rich brunet. He was somewhat nicer, he actually got along very well and fit right in with the gang, and he was starting to become one of his better friends. He had even confided in him by telling him that awful experience he had when he was younger. No one else in their group knew about that particular incident.

Then after several moments, right when he was starting to drift to sleep with thoughts of Kaiba, he jolted upright and yelled, "OH MY GOD, I LIKE KAIBA!"

...and that's the end of this chapter! Hope you enjoyed it! I actually put some effort into it, especially into that story Joey told. I was over here thinking 'should he fall or should he just hang on?' and then I decided it would be more traumatic if he fell. Well, please tell me what you think! I want to know!

Review! Thank you!

V


	8. Depression

Haha! Chapter Eight! I can't believe it! Rarely do I ever get to see this number of chapters in my fics! I usually don't get past seven for some reason. Anyway, this is the eighth chapter, in the flesh—or the byte, if I may—and with it comes many things! You'll see what I mean once you start reading.

I hope you like this chapter. And I forgot to put the title of it in the last chapter to give you a heads-up, so sorry about that. I know I could have just fixed it and replaced it and all that stuff but then you who read it already wouldn't know and yadda yadda yadda, you get the point.

And I realized I did something without meaning to. In the last chapter, I started using 'Joey' instead of 'Jounouchi'. I'm sorry. I get confused sometimes. In fact, I saw I was doing the same with this chapter so I quickly replaced the name. I will fix chapter seven also. To those who noticed and didn't say anything: Don't blame yourself. To those who didn't notice: I feel so much better that you didn't notice. :D

Oh and there's not much Japanese in this chapter (in fact, I don't there's any) because _it's a really emotional_—_and quite depressing_—_chapter _and I couldn't find a place to put it.

Well, please read, enjoy, and review!

_Chapter Eight: Depression_

Sapphire blue eyes were staring straight into hazel eyes. The look seemed to communicate thousands of feelings and emotions. But the hazel eyes never received that message. Kaiba and Jounouchi were sitting across from each other at a table in the library.

They were alone, simply enjoying each other's presence, and each reading their own book. But then the brunet glanced at the other and couldn't seem to look away as he studied his companion. Kaiba cleared his throat and looked back at his book.

"Oh, Kaiba, I almost forgot..." Jounouchi whispered softly since they were to be quiet, "Here..." He tossed a folded paper in front of the brunet. The other opened it and saw it was the note he had written what seemed like years ago. Kaiba opened his mouth and looked up to say something, but found there was no one there to say it to. The blond had disappeared. He looked around the library to see if he had just gotten up to find another book, but found no trace of him. He felt a bit alarmed. What happened?

Jou was trying to catch his breath. He had run full-speed out of the library, past the cafeteria, and into an empty classroom. He was hurting. Emotionally hurting. He couldn't bare the thought of having Kaiba treat him like shit again. He liked having him around and he liked not being insulted all the time. He liked Kaiba. No, he more than liked him. He had a crush on him. Yes. He was able to accept that. He suspected much about himself anyway.

Kaiba had attained the status of 'friends' with the gang, yes. But he didn't want things to go back to the way they were since it was all over. Kaiba did his part and Jounouchi did too. He returned the note. He would have to find something else to sleep with at night.

Jounouchi had had that note under his pillow every night ever since he got it. Not because he was trying to hide it, but because he liked to pretend the note was about him. (Boy, if only he knew X3) He closed the door, leaned against it, and slid down it onto the floor. To say he was upset would be an understatement. He was completely depressed.

He didn't want to lose a good friend. And more importantly, he didn't want to lose the only friend he had that knew about _that_ incident. That could come back to bite him, and if he knew Kaiba, it really would. But then what if the friendship stayed? But... what if it disintegrated the moment he handed back that paper?

A friend was gained. That friend came close to his heart. Now he's lost that friend. And it's all his fault. Had it not been for the bargain, they would have never hung out. But then again, had it not been for the bargain, he needn't care about Kaiba, and he wouldn't have this heartache.

And what a heartache it was.

He was so worked up he could literally feel the pain in his heart. Like he was stabbed in the chest. It was agony, unbearable agony. He felt tears fall onto his cheeks. _No! I can't cry about this! Why am I crying? Damn you, Seto Kaiba, for putting me through this pain! _His chest was on the brink of exploding. He let the hot, agonizing tears fall. It was all he could do to keep himself from sobbing loudly.

Kaiba was confused. His blond friend seemed to have vanished into nothingness. He was walking down the hallways, making sure he checked every corner, office, and stairway, but found him nowhere. He then reached the classroom hallways. He opened the first classroom door. No one. He checked the second. Same result.

He was starting to give up by the time he reached the last door and opened it. And there he was. Sitting on the floor against the wall right next to the door was one Jounouchi Katsuya. He seemed to be sleeping. Kaiba noticed his cheeks were wet and his eyes, though closed, were swollen. _Was he crying? But why would he cry?_ He closed the door and hesitated before he sat next to the blond on the floor.

"J-Jou?"

He stirred a bit but didn't wake up.

"Jounouchi? Wake up."

"Huh?" He opened an eye and saw how close the other was to his face. "Gah!" He shouted and quickly moved away. "W-What are ya doin?"

"Trying to wake you up, you fell asleep at school." Kaiba answered.

"Oh."

"Don't 'oh' me, what are you doing in here? Your eyes are all swollen. Were you... crying?" He hesitated.

Jounouchi's eyes widened. "Me? Cry? Why the hell would I be cryin?"

"You tell me."

Jounouchi looked down. "I wasn't cryin." I... was just really sleepy."

"Yeah, and I just accompanied the President to a family picnic.(1) Don't lie to me, Mutt."

Jounouchi winced at the word. He knew it. He knew it was going to happen. He just didn't think it was going to happen this fast. And in the same day. Their hateful relationship was back. Jounouchi couldn't handle a change so sudden. It was too soon.

He clutched at his chest, feeling a deeper heartache. It hurt. It really hurt. Then his vision seemed to get watery. _Don't cry in front of him! Don't cry in front of him!_ He stood up quickly and silently, and ran out of the classroom as he felt the tears coming again. He ran to the bathroom and into a stall.

This time he couldn't stop the loud sobbing. It was at this moment that he realized there was someone in the bathroom also. He vaguely wondered whether they thought he was a lunatic, crying the way he was.

Why did this have to happen? Why did he have to find Kaiba writing that note and coerce him into a negotiation like he did? Why did he fall for the damn brunet? Why did he _fall_ for that damn brunet? The walls of the stall felt like they were closing in on him. He couldn't be here. He just couldn't. He had to get out. Suddenly, air seemed impossible for him. His airways felt constricted. He was hyperventilating, trying to catch his breath.

He tried to unlock the door but his fingers couldn't seem to work right. He tried to call out for help, but he still couldn't breathe, much less talk. He started scratching at the door like a cat, he was gasping for air. Then he couldn't take in any air at all and felt really heavy and dizzy.

(A/N: After I wrote this, I read it over and I found myself unable to breathe. I had to take a deep breath. It was the weirdest thing. Any one of you guys go through that after reading that part? Or realize you needed to take a breather?)

"Jounouchi?" He heard someone call. It was him. How did he keep finding him? Then everything was black.

Kaiba was searching the stalls when he heard a thump like someone had fallen on the floor. He backed away and saw Jounouchi on the floor in the next stall.

"Jounouchi!" He yelled as he pulled him from under the door, seeing it was locked. He picked him up and carried him—carefully, mind you—to the nurse's office.

When he arrived, he quickly laid him on the bed and shouted for Miharu-sensei, the nurse. She turned up right away.

"Yes? May I help y—oh my, what happened?" She said, catching sight of the blond. "Did he faint?" She asked.

"I'm not sure; I think so." Kaiba answered, not really paying attention. The nurse then asked him to leave the room until further notice. It wasn't until now that Kaiba realized he had been holding Jounouchi's hand.

He let go of the hand and left the room. _What the hell happened? Why did he run away? Why did he faint? Something's wrong. I've got to get to the bottom of this._

—.o.0.o.—

Jounouchi slowly opened his eyes. Everything was blurry at first sight but it all seemed to straighten up after a few seconds. His friends—including Kaiba—were sitting next to him, staring at him. When they saw he was awake, they all wore a smile.

"Jou-kun!" Yugi shouted and leaped to give him a hug. "How are you feeling? Does your head hurt?"

The blond sat up and rubbed his head. "Yeah, a little. What happened? And why do I feel like I can't breathe?"

"The nurse said you had a panic attack. And..." Kaiba paused and looked around. "Are you claustrophobic?" He then whispered into Jounouchi's ear. It was then he realized Kaiba was here.

"What're ya doin 'ere, Kaiba? Aint ya supposed to be goin back to ya baka (oh hey, there's one Jap word) self?"

Kaiba seemed taken aback.

"Why _wouldn't_ Kaiba-kun be here, Jounouchi-kun? He's our friend. Don't you remember?" Yugi asked.

Jou sighed and said, "Never mind." Then he mumbled something about taking off. Kaiba, making sure it didn't look like he was following the blond, left right after. Of course, he was planning on following him; he just didn't want the others to know.

While he was trailing after the blond, Kaiba thought about Jounouchi's words. '_Aint ya supposed to be goin back to ya baka self?'_ Had Jou expected Kaiba to stop hanging out with him after all was said and done? Was he _supposed_ to go back to not being friends? Was he _supposed_ to just forget the last few days, forget what they shared—traumatizing secrets and good-natured arguments—and forget their bond?

But he liked, no, adored the time he spent with the blond. He couldn't go back, didn't want to go back, and—if he could just talk to the blond—wouldn't go back to being the 'baka' he was.

Jounouchi, still unsuspectingly being followed by Kaiba, went into the men's locker-room for the school's athletic team and went up to his gym locker. Kaiba decided not to go in, decided to wait in the hallway in its stead. Kaiba realized his locker was a few feet away and got his things out, quickly returning to his place afterward. Jou was in there for a few minutes before he came out again.

The blond then proceeded to walk outside the school and to the park close by. Kaiba vaguely thought about a mutt going to the dog park to play, but tossed those thoughts aside, forgotten. He wasn't the same person he was before Jounouchi had barged into his life, demanding he make a deal with him.

Seeing and being around Jou only made him feel worse, made what he said worse. Jou didn't want to be friends. It was all an act for their deal. He didn't want to be 'buddies' and hang out. But then... why had he shared that memory with him? Was it all made up? Was it a ploy to try to make him think what they had was real? To make him lower his guard?

Kaiba wasn't feeling all too well anymore. He felt a sickening sadness come over him as he watched the blond make his way onto a bench. He couldn't be here right now. He left the park and went straight home, not bothering to take his coat off or even greet Mokuba. He hated himself. He hated the world. Why did everything have to come crashing down just as it was getting to the best part?

_Fine. If Jounouchi hates me so much he's forcefully pushing me away, then I won't stop him. And I'll never let my guards down ever again. I won't trust anyone. I _don't_ trust anyone. _"Why am I even giving this thought?" Kaiba said aloud. He was making his way towards his room. "I hate life." He said, distracted by the despair that was now creeping up inside him, eating away at his heart and soul.

"I hate you, Jounouchi Katsuya."

Over at the park, sitting on a bench, Jou clutched at his heart. He felt a deeper heartache suddenly press at his insides and it hurt so badly, he almost felt like breaking down and crying right there. It was weird of him to unexpectedly feel pained. It was as if someone had badmouthed him. Like when you sneeze when someone is talking about you.

Of course, the pain was only emotional—not physical, mind you—but regardless, it hurt. His mind drifted to Kaiba as the pain seemed to ease a bit. _Now you can go back to the life you had before I fucked it up. Now you can hate me again and be full of hatred. And I can only love you from a distance._ He knew it wasn't just a crush he had on the brunet. He knew it ran deeper than that. How and when that happened, he wasn't sure. But it was there. He was sure about that.

Still holding his schoolbag, he got up and went home, went straight to his room, and sat at his desk. He pulled out his things and began writing endlessly. It was a comfort to put his thoughts down on paper. Maybe he could even turn them into a poem for his project.

Or maybe...

* * *

^_^'' Yeah, I know it's a cliffhanger, but it was necessary, I promise! Don't murder me or chop me into little pieces and feed me to the birds or the fishies! Please! And I hope I'm not brutally murdered by a certain person who thinks I'm the Queen of Cliffhangers! You're the Queen of Curveballs, yourself... ya know?

And I do realize that there were no "journal" entries, but you'll see why not too long from now. Perhaps in a few chapters. I'll tell you you definitely won't find out in the next chapter.

Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. I know it was really depressing and stuff, but I promise everything's going to get a lot better in the next chapter. Seeing how the title is _Acceptance_. :) If you liked it and you know it, write a review! XP

Thanks to all of you who review! I'm very motivated by them all and they keep me focused on getting the job done. And by the 'job', I mean being on my computer day in and day out coming up with ideas. Whether it's ideas for this fic, ideas for other fics I'm writing, or helping friends with their fics that I started, (wink, wink) I'm a busy gal. So... I'm not sure when Chapter Nine (oh wow, CHAPTER NINE! I LOVE THE THOUGHT OF THAT!) is coming out so please be patient... and REVIEW WHILE YOU'RE WAITING! Thank you and have an awesome day! Bye!


	9. Acceptance

I am so happy to deliver this chapter to you. I got some great reviews from the last one and that makes me very happy. I was actually expecting to get yelled at for being so emo but what I received was just awesome! And don't worry, I will continue right where I left off. And, as you can see, I was not murdered because of the cliffhanger. Yay...?

By the way, I noticed that the same thing I did with Jounouchi (Joey instead of Jou) I was doing to Honda (I began using Tristan). So I have a lot on my mind to keep up which I use. You know who I'm talking about anyway...right? Also, I would like to take this time to say, I get my inspiration, motivation, and creativity from you! My reviewers! You guys keep my writing! I LOVE EVERY ONE OF YOU! .'' I know that's weird but... yeah.

Lol. Well anyway, I don't know what else to put up here so I'm just going to go into the chapter, a'ight? ^-^''

_Chapter Nine: Acceptance_

Previously...

_Still holding his schoolbag, [Jounouchi] got up and went home, went straight to his room, and sat at his desk. He pulled out his things and began writing endlessly. It was a comfort to put his thoughts down on paper. Maybe he could even turn them into a poem for his project._

_Or maybe..._ ...it was time he go up to the brunet and give him a piece of his mind—or his heart—and see what happens. What's life without risk, right?

"Risk is my middle name." He remembered telling his sister.

But he wasn't all too confident. It wasn't everyday Jounouchi went up to someone, much less a guy, and expressed his affection for them. He was pretty sure, be it girl or guy, that someone confessed to Kaiba every day, if not every hour. Tomorrow, he would march up to the brunet, demand that he talk privately with him, and bluntly tell him how much he likes him. Of course, there were flaws in the plan.

Like whether or not he would be able to even walk up to the brunet, there was Kaiba allowing their private talk, and his reaction to his declaration. He was sure though, that he could improvise if such an occasion occurred that nothing went his way.

The next day at school, Jou went over to his locker and grabbed his things. All he had to do was figure out when he was going up to Kaiba. It would be disastrous should he decide to confront him in class. But it would take away his eating time if he went up to him during lunch. It would be pointless if he went up to him after school and even more so over the phone.

This had to be done in person, whether he liked it or not. He decided that eating his lunch quickly for one day wasn't so bad. He nodded to himself and continued on to his first period.

Class hadn't started yet, but the teacher was there already and so the students were less rowdy than normal. Tsumetai-sensei was reminding the class of their project due in a week. He spotted Yugi and Anzu talking, most likely discussing the project, and not too far away was Kaiba. The brunet was sitting at his desk writing in what Jou assumed was his notebook. Jounouchi took a deep breath and walked over to his friends.

As the day went on, Jou only had one thing on his mind. And that one thing had gotten him two detentions for not paying attention, four or five spitballs to the back of his head—compliments of Honda—and a really nasty glare from his Algebra teacher.

So what if he wasn't paying any mind to her? He never did before, why should she get mad now? Pfft. Teachers.

And so it finally came. It was lunchtime at Domino High and Jounouchi was shaking more than a dysfunctional washing machine. Anyone passing by would think he had hypothermia. He ate his meal in a record, for Jou, of 2 minutes. His stomach was going to hurt in a bit, he knew it. He stood up slowly and dragged his feet as he walked over to Kaiba, who was sitting at a lunch table by himself typing away on his laptop.

"K-Kaiba?" He hesitated. The brunet looked up at him, but then looked back to his computer screen.  
"What is it, Mutt." Jou slightly winced as if the word had physically hurt him, but brushed it off.  
"I-I need to talk to you. Can we go somewhere... private?" That caught Kaiba's attention.  
"And just what do you plan on talking to me about? I don't have time to waste on Mutts like you."  
"J-Just hear me out. It'll only take five minutes, at the most."  
"Fine." Kaiba closed down his laptop and packed it. He then stood up, laptop case in tow, and walked away, aware that the blond was following him. Part of the reason he had accepted was because he had noticed that the Mutt wasn't talking with his annoying street accent.

The other of course was because deep down he would talk to the blond as much as he could just to be near him. He wanted to hold him, to comfort him when he was sad or upset, to make him happy, to love him...

Yes, Kaiba had finally embraced the idea of having fallen in love with his blond classmate. The process had been difficult, but he finally accepted those feelings.

Jounouchi was a ball of nerves in human form. He didn't know where to start, let alone how to look him in the eye. He suddenly forgot everything he had planned to say and the very reason why he had asked to talk to Kaiba alone.

He finally—and abruptly—remembered and mumbled, "I-I... you... l-love."  
Kaiba didn't hear him though. He needed to get closer in order to hear. "What's that? Don't mumble, I can't hear you."

It only made Jou feel more nervous to repeat it a second time.

Of course, Kaiba had heard it clearly. He just wasn't sure if he had actually said it or if he had imagined it. _Wishful thinking._ He thought.

Jou suddenly felt courageous. He stared straight into the beautiful sapphire eyes and said, "Seto Kaiba, I..." Then it suddenly went away, "...I-I lo...lost my keychain! I needa go find it! See ya!" He shouted, running away. Kaiba sighed, frustrated at the time lost and went to the library, where he could get some piece and quiet. Anytime spent with his love was not at all time lost. He just saw it as time lost that he could be devising a plan on how to confess to the blond.

Jou rounded the corner and tried to look calm as he went back to the lunch room to sit with his friends.  
"Hey, Jounouchi-kun. Where've you been?" Yugi asked him as he sat down.  
"Ahh, just went to the wee boy's room. Then I met this really hot girl..." He invented wildly.  
"Oh no, not another 'hot girl'! Ya know, Jou, I'm starting to wonder exactly how many girlfriends you have. I mean, you've told me you have two... and now this other one pops up? Tell me, how do you keep them from meeting each other?"

Jounouchi paused in thought.

"Take them to different places on different days? Seriously, Honda, it aint that hard. Ya just aint got any to practice." He smirked. Of course, Jou didn't have any girlfriends whatsoever. It was a big lie. But he wasn't about to tell them that.

Honda simply 'humphed' and crossed his arms in a mock-angry pout. They laughed and continued on with their day. Jou, trying not to think about his huge faux pas with Kaiba earlier, actually paid attention in the remainder of his classes. It caught even the science teacher off-guard when Jou had asked him to further explain Le Chatelier's Principle and Collision Theory.

It was all he could do to both get his mind off it, and to further delve into his mistakes and make sure that didn't happen again. It was quite embarrassing, to say the least. And whether he liked it or not, Kaiba could—and would—use that moment against him.

Taking out his pen to write into the diary/notebook he had found what felt like ages ago, Kaiba opened it to a blank page and began writing.

_Fushi,_

_I've finally found it in my heart to let myself feel this new emotion called love. But now that I've embraced that fate, I feel like I'm still bound to unlovely misfortunes. For example, I don't know how to be in love. I might need to explain that further. I may accept that I am in love—and what love this is—but I don't know what to do now what I'm in the moment. Do I take action? Do I let it play itself out? What do you think? Should I act all romantic or should I be the boy-picking-on-a-girl-he-likes type of thing. I know you said you really haven't experienced love yourself but I was hoping maybe you might have some advice on the matter. I know it is very unlike me to admit this, being who I am, but I really need your help._

He read his own letter after writing it and nodded in satisfaction. It was good enough and not too vulnerable. Just what he was attempting. He put the notebook in his bag and stood up, ready to leave to his locker. The bell rang and he went and left it in the small compartment where he had found it.

He hoped the unknown owner of the mysterious notebook had the answers he was looking for.

* * *

Alright! This is the end of the chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. It took me a while to think of how it would go down. Not too much happens. It's more like a filler chapter. And... has anyone noticed how... proper and poetic Kaiba sounds when he writes his letters? It's actually cool. (To me it is, anyway) The next chapter, which I think I'm going to title _The Assignment, Part One: The Poems _is going to contain the project that they were assigned. As you see, it says "Part 1", as in there's two parts. I'm going to take my time on them. The chapter after that will be _The Assignment, Part Two: Reactions_. I'm looking to make them long.

Speaking of which, I'm sorry this chapter isn't as long as you would have liked, but, as I've told you before, the next two chapters are (I'm hoping) longer. And, by the way, I'll be posting them at the same time. :) Yay!...?

Lol. Well please review. I know there's not much to say since it's basically a filler, but I'd like to know what you think. And if you have any ideas for the next chapters with their projects and what you'd like to see happen, I'll consider them and might even put it in!

I may have said the next two chapters are long, but that's just what I'm hoping. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT! I haven't written them at all yet, it's just my prediction, which I'm usually bad with (kind of like Tsunade). Anyway, don't forget to review. Flames are okay I guess, though I'd prefer it as constructive criticism. But if you can't help yourself, then fine. PLEASE REVIEW! Okay, I'm done rambling. ^-^"'


	10. The Assignment, Part One: Poems

I've gotten some pretty funny and weird and just plain awesome reviews. I guess you could call that 'mixed reviews'. Lol. Anyway, I got this weird review asking me to post this story on DeviantArt. And I have a lot to say about that.

For one, I know _of_ DeviantArt, but I'm not _familiar_ with it (as in I don't use it). Secondly, why do you (you know who you are) want me to put it on there in the first place? Third, how do I even do that? And fourth, I appreciate that you'd like me to do that.

Thanks for all the reviews. They keep me writing! (In other words, your reviews remind me to continue this story so that I don't get murdered for not finishing it.)

Alrighty. This is the first part of the final chapters. Maybe the second-to-last one? Yeah...I think that's right. I'm trying to have twelve chapters.

Well, I'll stop yapping. Go on with the fic. Oh, and there's a week-long time skip to get right to the poems. And I'm only going to write out Kaiba's and Jounouchi's presentations. Okay. Read!

_Chapter Ten: The Assignment, Part 1: The Poems_

Kaiba couldn't help himself. He _was_ the over-achiever in the class, perhaps even the school, but _this_? What exactly was he trying to prove anyway? It's not like there was a race to be the first one in the classroom, so why was he here two hours early?

He heaved the thought to the back of his mind and continued to his seat. He knew being there extremely early was stupid, but he didn't want to get caught when he executed his plan. And he needed some kind of time to put this plan on the underside of Jou's desk.

Yes, he was going to leave Jounouchi a note hanging from the underside of his desk. That way, only the blond would be aware of the note. Kaiba pulled out the note he had written already from his pocket and read it over for the thousandth time and made sure he was satisfied with its content. He nodded to himself as he slid to the floors onto his knees and twisted his body to get a look at the underside of Jou's desk.

He took a piece of tape, folded the paper, and taped it to the desk, making sure it wasn't noticeable without sitting in the desk. After he finished, he suddenly realized something. He stood up and went around the desk to sit in the seat.

He basked in the excitement of sitting in the same spot where his puppy would be sitting in only an hour and a half. Then, (as if Kaiba Seto wasn't getting weird enough) he laid his head onto the desk, putting his arms off to the sides, and hugged it. The pictures of the many times Jounouchi had fallen asleep on the desk came through his mind as he stayed there enjoying the moment. (Talk about obsessed.)

Five minutes passed and he suddenly straightened himself up, clearing his throat to pretend that hadn't just happened. He quickly stood up and rummaged through his bag, looking for a pen and quickly bent under Jou's desk again after obtaining one. Leaving the note still under the desk, he drew a puppy close to where it said _For Katsuya_. Happy with his addition, he collected himself, put his things in place, and sat at his own desk.

Jounouchi was just walking in the classroom with his friends when he suddenly stopped, causing Honda to walk into him from behind. He made a quiet 'oof' sound as he made a face.

"Jounouchi! Either warn me or keep movin!" Jou turned around and said,

"Sorry. I remembered I forgot my papers for today's presentations in my locker. I gotta go get 'em."

"Hurry, Jou-kun, there's only three minutes until the bell rings!" Yugi informed him. Jounouchi looked at the clock and silently cursed it.

The bell rang mere seconds after he came running back in with his papers in hand.

"I'm not late! I'm not late!" He yelled as he ran to his desk and sat down. But as he slid his legs under his desk, he felt something brush his thighs. Not wanting to attract anymore attention to himself, he swiftly slid his hand under the desk and pulled at what he found to be a piece of paper.

He slowly and quietly began to peel it off the underside of his desk as the teacher began to speak.

"Alright class, as you are well aware, the presentations for your creative writing projects are today. We'll have half of the class present today and the rest will present tomorrow. Before I say anything else, I want to remind you you _do_ need to interpret your creative piece. Now, I will go over the rubric for this presentation one more time so that you are reminded of what I'm looking for..." She said as she grabbed the sheet of paper off her desk.

All the while, Jou was slowly peeling off his note. Too slow, in Kaiba's opinion, as he eyed him trying to get his note. _Just tear it off already!_ Kaiba silently thought as he watched Jou. The blond finally got the paper loose just as the teacher walked up to him.

"..._clearly_ while you talk so that we can understand you, _Jounouchi_."

The blond glared at her, fully aware that she was insulting his speech, and waited for her to walk away, still going over the rubric.

As soon as she turned her back, he looked at the paper in his lap and his eyes narrowed. There was a drawing of a dog next to where it said _For Katsuya_. His mind quickly went to Kaiba, but he mentally shrugged it off as he unfolded the note.

Kaiba's heart sped up as he watched the blond open the note and begin to read the words. Jou folded the note back up and stuffed the paper in his pocket. Kaiba watched for a reaction but saw none. He wondered what was going through his mind, but was quickly brought out of his thoughts as the teacher called him up to be the first to present. Cursing the teacher under his breath, he stood up and walked to the front of the class.

In an expressionless monotone, he said, "For my creative writing project, I chose to write poems because they were the less time-consuming. I have a company to run so I don't have time for bullshit assignments."

The teacher glared at him. He continued. "I'll make sure to speak in the simplest vocabulary available so that even a _mutt_ can understand me. The first poem I'm going to read is titled _Days_.

_Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,_

_Pass torturously slow_

_When we're apart._

_Thursday, Friday, Saturday,_

_Pass by like seconds when we're not._

_Sunday,_

_Time is non-existent;_

_Yet somehow fairly persistent._

_Now what?_

"I wrote this poem when I could think of nothing but how slow and fast a person's week could be. It all depends on one's attitude. Usually the first few days of the week seem slower because we're just getting into the rhythm of it again. But as the week is approaching its end, the days seem to speed up because we're looking forward to the weekend." Kaiba explained. _Lazy asses only look forward to the weekend to do whatnot without the knowledge of their parents._ He thought as he flipped to another page.

The teacher nodded and jotted something down on her notes. Kaiba continued.

"The next poem I will be reading is called _Pieces._

_In the front yard,_

_I find one._

_In the attic,_

_I find another._

_In the garden_

_Is one more._

_I can't find the last,_

_It's nowhere to be found._

_Is it lost? No!_

_It's right in front of me_

_In the hands of fate._

"The main point of this poem is that this person is searching for something and you can assume it to be anything. However, the meaning in the words wasn't my focus while I wrote this. My intention was for each verse to begin with the same letter. Going back to the interpretation of the words though, we could suppose the person could be searching for something that had been broken. My main thought at first was that they were looking for pieces of their broken heart. But then I looked into it and found it could be actual pieces of a puzzle, which could symbolize the puzzle of life that fate controls. I'm done." He finished. He quickly tossed the teacher his paper, not caring if it fell to the ground, and sat down.

The teacher, still writing, had caught the paper before it fell to the floor and resumed her writing. "Very good, very good, Mr. Kaiba. His presentation will serve as a model as to how I expect every one of you to present. Of course, I could do without the insult." She added after she ceased writing. "Alright, let's continue..." She called students up.

Every single student could honestly say no one could measure up to Kaiba. The class was almost over. Honda had also been called up. As expected, it was disastrous. "Okay..." The teacher mumbled as she checked the clock, "we have time for one more presentation. Everyone else will present tomorrow so get yourselves ready for it. Let's see...Jounouchi Katsuya, you're up."

As soon as his name was called, Jou had flinched in his seat. He had been silently cheering because he hadn't been called up, and then he goes and gets called up as the last person. _Why did I have to be last? Everyone remembers the last person! _He sighed impatiently as he dragged his feet to the front, his internal battle stalling him. Debating accent or not, he made it to the front of the classroom and he soon felt his heartbeat quicken as he stared back at all the ungrateful and mocking faces.

_Seriously, how was Kaiba able to do this without even trembling?_ He asked himself as he opened his mouth to speak.

"M-My creative writing pieces were inspired by personal situations I experienced at a younger age and thoughts and feelings I had about everyday things around me. I wrote poems because I felt they were the best way to express myself, since I like to write.

"My first poem is called _Freedom_.

_As I sit here in distress,_

_My life a complete mess,_

_I look up to the night-filled sky_

_And watch the clouds blow by._

_How I wish to ride a cloud,_

_To feel the sovereignty I vowed_

_As I go where the wind takes me,_

_No one stopping my curiosity._

_But I sit here on a bench_

_Feeling my heart fall down Earth's trench_

_I wish that I were finally free_

_Wouldn't you if you were me?_

"When I thought of this, I was looking up to the sky and envying the clouds which seemed so peaceful and free. I then started daydreaming about the many places I could go to or things I could do. This poem is about escaping to a world unknown, a world where I could do whatever I wanted." He gave a contented sigh as he stared off into nothing. He seemed to be in lala land, or at least deep in thought. The teacher smiled and made some notes, soon after clearing her throat.

Jolted out of his delirium, Jounouchi quickly continued. "My next poem, I titled _A Poem of Longing_."

Kaiba's eyes went impossibly wide as he found that title to be familiar. He quickly grabbed his bag and took out Fushi's Diary and opened it to the second page. Written on the page, was a poem that had the same title as what Jounouchi had just said. _No way. There is no fucking way._ He thought as he waited for the blond to read the poem to see if what he said, and what he read off the page was the same thing or not.

Jou began reading,

"_It's been so long since she saw him._

_She longed to hear his voice,_

_To feel she was protected,_

_She wished she had that choice._

_Every hour of every day,_

_She felt she was in pain._

_And each time she started crying,_

_The sky began to rain._

_She missed him, loved him, trusted him,_

_To stay forever by her side._

_But now all she could do was remember_

_As her heart's desire was denied._"

Kaiba all but fell to the floor. He had read that poem word for word.

"I wrote this poem in the third person because I was trying to do something different. The poem depicts a girl, who actually is my sister after we were separated. I attempted to portray what she might have been feeling after we were taken apart from each other, and I used a bit of the feelings I had. Even now I feel guilty when I can't be there for her." He finished and gave the teacher his papers.

"Thank you, Mr. Jounouchi, that was lovely," said the teacher as he walked back towards his desk. The bell rang soon after he had taken his seat again. He had noticed Kaiba to be making an odd look, but he ignored it as he picked up his things and headed out the door, accompanied by his friends.

* * *

And that's the end of this chapter! You know, it might have taken me a while to update—okay it took me a _long _while—but I just began writing this chapter last a few days ago and I finished it today. I've been waiting for this chapter for a very long time! It was like I never had writer's block!

Well, you already know what's coming next. Their reactions. Oh, did anyone have any guesses as to who the writer of that diary was before this chapter? I think I saw one or two in the reviews. They made me laugh! No offense, but I don't think Yami is even in this fic at all.

Well, please review! I know the next chapter is up but I still want you to review the chapter! PLEASE REVIEW! *takes a deep breath and slowly exhales*


	11. The Assignment, Part Two: Reactions

Since I'm posting this chapter at the same time as the last chapter, I'd like to thank people ahead of time for your reviews on Part One. And just to make it clear, this is the last chapter, but there is an epilogue. It's an eleven-chapter story, with a small continuation as an epilogue for chapter twelve.

Alright, let's get to Part Two now. (Warning: Kaiba gets a bit more OOC towards the end) Now, enjoy!

_Chapter Eleven: The Assignment, Part 2: Reactions_

"Wow, Jounouchi-kun, you're poems were awesome! I liked the one about your sister." Yugi said as they walked together in the hallways. "And you seemed really passionate when you were reading it."

"I dunno, I was just readin' it." Jou said rubbing the back of his head as he walked. "I mean that was a poem I wrote a long time ago."

"Yeah? And what was with the way you were talkin'? You sounded all professional and stuff." Honda asked.

"Gah... can we not talk 'bout this? I just wanna forget about that presentation stuff. I hate doin' things like that." He reached his next class. He bid everyone good luck as they went off to their own classes. Jou didn't have the same second period as they. In fact, they weren't even aware he took this class. It was AP Calculus. He was actually glad he didn't have any of his friends in this class because then his cover would be blown. But there was one person with whom he had this class with, much to his dismay: Kaiba.

Of course, Kaiba hadn't even realized the blond was in his class. He never paid the class any mind, so why would he see who his classmates were?

He looked at his watch. There was still some time before the start of the class.

"Jounouchi." The blond nearly jumped out of his skin at the soft whisper in his ear.

"Aaahh! Don't fuckin scare me like that, baka!" Kaiba smirked at the other's reaction. "I coulda hadda heart attack!"

"Whatever. I wanted to talk to you."

"Talk to me?" Jou echoed, calming down. "What did ya wanna talk about?" They walked over to the wall across the hall and leaned against it.

"I wanted to ask you where you got that poem you said you wrote about your sister."

"Huh? I wrote that. I didn't find it anywhere. Why?" He asked as he saw Kaiba rummage through this backpack. He then pulled out a familiar notebook. His eyes widened. "Wh-Where did ya get that? Have ya been goin' through my stuff?" He asked, slightly pissed.

"No." Kaiba paused before he asked his next question. He wanted to ask him but he didn't want to sound weird if he was mistaken. "Tell me..." he began, "...Fushigi na nōto...have you ever heard of it?"

Jou's eyed widened more, if possible, as he heard the words. Realization hit him hard as he mumbled softly, "...Shingaisha..."

"What was that?" Kaiba asked.

Jou gaped at Kaiba for what seemed like forever. "...but how?"

It seemed the brunet understood what he was asking as he said, "So it _is_ you." He randomly flipped through the pages, glancing at them as he said, "I have no idea how. All I do is put the notebook back in the little compartment of my locker where I found it."

An idea struck the blond as he said, "Go to your locker and open the compartment. I'll be right back." And he took off. Not liking being ordered, Kaiba scowled but still did as he was told. He went over to his locker that wasn't too far away and easily opened it. He opened the latch, only to cry out in surprise.

Jounouchi's face peeked through the other side. "Thought so." He said.

"What the hell? Where are you?"

"I'm in the boy's gym locker room. This is where I kept my notebook. There's a hole in the back of our lockers. It seems that the mysterious intruder who responded to my letters is no one but Seto I'm-A-God Kaiba." Kaiba narrowed his eyes and slammed his locker shut.

He closed his eyes and tried to calm down. He thought back to all the times he had seen Jounouchi writing in a notebook. He felt sickened when he realized how stupid he had been not to have grasped it. Jou was the one who came to his friends talking about that rumor no one had heard of before he mentioned it.

_He's most likely the one who started it._ He thought about the little girl that was mentioned on the first page and the poem. _His little sister._ He remembered Jounouchi's complaints about his fellow classmates' eagerness to find that "magical locker". He remembered Jounouchi putting his things away at the library and taking out a book instead. He hated his thoughts right now.

"I can't believe..." _...my Jou is the one who was writing back to me. I was convinced my locker was this 'locker that grants your heart's innermost desire'. It turns out that it's just a locker that happened to have Katsuya's notebook. We talked about some private things too. The stranger had become a kind of friend. We talked about so much it's hard to just end it and move on. He knows about everything I went through up until now! He knows about my past...and that I'm in love! Oh no!_

"Hey Kaiba," Jou began as he waltzed back over to the brunet, "just outta curiosity, who's it ya're in love with?" He asked abruptly. Kaiba had an inner panic attack.

To distract himself, he pulled out Jou's notebook from his bag and flipped through the pages. He found what he had been looking for. He read his letter again.

_Fushi,_

_You are not unlike me. I busy myself all the time, not allowing myself to be distracted from other things and other people. I don't know what love is, to be perfectly honest. What is love? Is love something you can see? I truly believe I'm not worthy of such a thing, such a distraction, such a...There's this weird feeling that I don't recognize, each time I see him. It's like swirls in the pit of my stomach. When I so much as hear his name, I get all jittery and don't know why. And to add to that, he is my rival, my opposite._

Then he read the letter Jou had written as a response.

_Shingaisha,_

_I wouldn't know of any other way of telling you this because, well, I don't think there is any other way. Using my experience and studies of human behavior, I would say that judging by your descriptions of your feelings and of how your body reacts, I will tell you you are in love._

He closed his eyes, aware that the blond was watching him. This could be his chance. He could tell him that he had been talking about him in his letters. Now that he thought about it...

He looked Jounouchi straight in the eyes. "_That's _why you were smirking all day a few weeks ago. You drove me crazy with that smirk."

Slowly realizing what Kaiba was talking about, Jou said, "Huh? Oh, yeah! I couldn't help it. Ya're in love but ya needed help realizing it! I found that amusing. Of course, I didn't know it was you." He pointed at him.

"Hn." Was Kaiba's retort. _Just shut your trap and don't say anything, Kaiba. Maybe he wont ask me again._

"Are ya gonna answer me or just avoid the question, baka na ryū?" Jou asked him. Kaiba simply stared at him, his mind blank for once. Desperately trying to change the subject, he remembered the note he left under Jounouchi's desk.

"Say, Mutt, I saw earlier you had a note. What was it?"

"Huh? Like I'd ever tell you!" The blond said and then scurried into the classroom. The brunet smirked in triumph.

It was close to night time and Jou sat on a bench near the pond at the park. He had been anticipating this confrontation all day long and was barely able to contain his nervousness as the time slowly approached.

_FLASHBACK_

_He opened up the note he had found under his desk and read the scribbled words:_

_Meet me at the park at 9 o'clock._

_END FLASHBACK_

He checked his watch. There were still 15 minutes until 9.

"What the hell am I doing here? I don't even know who gave me that note. For all I know it's a damn serial killer." He looked out to the water sparkling beautifully in the moonlight and sighed. "I guess I'm just curious."

"Do you _always _talk to yourself like that?" The voice came from behind him. He turned to come face to face with, "Seto Kaiba..."

"The one and only."

"What're ya doin 'ere?"

"Same thing you are, I guess."

Jounouchi raised his eyebrow. "You're here to meet with someone?"

Kaiba smirked unnoticeably and said, "Only if he wants to meet the real me."

Jou jumped up and pointed an accusing finger at Kaiba.

"_You _gave me that note?" Kaiba nodded.

"Listen, Joey, I—"

"Hold on right there!" Jou interrupted. "Did you just call me Joey? That's not my name."

Kaiba, realizing his mistake, said "S-Sorry, I call you Joey in my mind sometimes." He paused. "Listen, Jounouchi, I—"

"You just called me Jounouchi! You've been calling me 'mutt' ever since we stopped pretending being friends. Why the sudden change?"

"I-I don't want to keep insulting you. Honestly, I never liked it. I hated being an asshole to you, but I wasn't sure what else to resort to." Kaiba told him.

"And...the person I mentioned in the notebook that I was in love with, well, I came here to tell you that since I didn't tell you before."

Jou smiled. _He's smiling! At me! He's smiling at me! Oh gods I forgot what I was going to say!_ Kaiba mentally panicked.

"Kaiba, before you tell me, I wanted to tell you something." Jou said, bringing the brunet out of his inner tantrum. "I remember you asking in one of your letters a question that I had no idea how to answer so I avoided it completely. But I think I know now. You asked me what love is. And I finally have an answer."

"Okay."

"I looked it up in the dictionary, but it wasn't a satisfying answer. So I found my own definition for it. Love is the heart's desire to serve someone precious to you, to watch over them, to care for them."

Kaiba's eyes widened at the words, but even more so at 'heart's desire'. "Why does that term keep coming up?"

"What term?" Jou wondered.

"The rumor about that locker that _you_ spread... your poem... your definition. That term only surfaces around _you_." It was Jou's turn to receive an accusing finger. "Why is that?"

Jounouchi stood there a bit confused. But he finally seemed to put everything together. "Kaiba, I made up that rumor. None of it was ever true. I only wanted to see the school become frantic."

Kaiba awed at Jou's use of 'frantic' but didn't say anything.

"I wrote that poem right after my sister and I were separated. And, well, the definition must've been coincidence."

"No." Kaiba said, simply.

"No?"

"No. I don't think so and have come to a conclusion that I'm sure you'll want to hear." Now Jou was curious. _This is very unlike me to talk about my emotions like this but here it goes._ Jounouchi nodded that he could continue.

"The whole thing about the rumor made me wonder what my innermost desire is. I pondered over it, yet I couldn't figure it out. I have everything I could possibly want, yet, I still felt empty. That's how I knew there had to be something I wanted so desperately, I couldn't figure it out on my own. That's when I stumbled across that notebook that just so happened to link us together.

"I had finally found a kind of friend to pour myself out to. I soon thought I had found this idiotic 'magical' locker. I believed for the longest time that my innermost desire was a friend. But then I was told I was in love. I wouldn't believe it for the longest time—and believe me when I say, I went through the motions on that one—but sooner or later, I believed you.

"And I realized every day a little more that I felt very strongly for that person. It wasn't a high school crush. It was the real thing. That's when I realized my most desperate desire wasn't a friend to converse and share everything with, but a special someone to spend the rest of my life with—and to spoil. I felt empty because I didn't have anyone to allot my luxury with. Having everything you ever wanted isn't the same unless you're sharing it with the person that makes you happy everyday." Kaiba strolled over and sat next to Jounouchi. He looked him in the eye.

"Katsuya..." He whispered. "...I know who that person is now. You yourself helped me realize it."

Jou was glad that Kaiba had finally found someone to love, but saddened at the prospect of it not being himself.

"Good for you, Seto, I'm glad I was a big help. So...who is it?"

Kaiba moved forward and Jou knew he was going to whisper the name in his ear so he moved his head accordingly. He was surprised when Kaiba turned his face back toward him and the gap between their faces became a sliver.

"I love _you _Katsuya Jounouchi. I don't care if you don't feel the same, I don't care if you want to just throw up right now, I don't care what others may think. It's only you and me. Fuck everyone else." Kaiba said. Jounouchi was stunned into silence. He stunned himself even more when he was the one to push the necessary millimeter and kiss the brunet.

There seemed to be fireworks going off as they kissed. It was as if they were already a couple but had been separated for a far too long period of time and were just reuniting.

They parted but kept each other close, Kaiba still holding onto Jou's face as if it were to disappear. They were gasping for air and speechless. The moment seemed too perfect.

Jou then looked up at Kaiba's pensive expression and asked, "What's wrong?"

Kaiba then whispered, "I was trying to think of something cute, elaborate, or romantic to say, but I found out what works most is the simple things that can be said, like 'I'm forever yours'."

Jounouchi then gave a confused look, blinking away from the beautiful scenery, and said, "Hmm? Did you say something?"

* * *

Well that's the end of the story! I know it gets cheesy at the end, but hey! There'll be an epilogue so you can see into their lives together. (No one said it would be easy, right?) Oh, and if you want a lemon in the epilogue, tell me in your review, along with the information below. I hope you liked it and that it was worth the wait. (Sorry it took so long, by the way.) And you wouldn't believe how many times I used 'Joey' instead of 'Jounouchi'. I'm just glad I caught it. You might've noticed that I made Kaiba call him Joey. I found that funny. That's how I feel a lot of the time. I think from now on, I'm going to just use 'Joey', instead of both.

Additionally, I have some more yaoi puppyshipping oneshots planned...but I don't know which one you'd want to read the most, so I'm going to have a vote! Here are the three oneshot ideas to choose from. Tell me what you think in your review! I'll give you about a month (from the date this chapter is published), that way, I get enough opinions and I have time to write them while I'm waiting.

1) In Kaiba's opinion, going to Yugi's place to have a game night is anything but heaven. Can Joey shed some heavenly light on the matter? Title: "Seven Minutes in Heaven" Will be rated M. Romance/Humor

2) It's the Seniors Party after the graduation. The last chance for everyone to enjoy themselves with their fellow peers. The last chance to make long-lasting friendships. The last chance to confront secret loves. The last chance to find the right words to say before they say goodbye. Title: "After the Graduation" Will be rated T. Romance/Friendship/Humor

3) Seto is forced into a karaoke bar by Mokuba. But then after getting drunk, he decides he wants to sing too. Title: "Karaoke" Will be rated T unless otherwise noted. Romance/Angst/Humor –pretty weird combination, eh?

I will of course, write all of them in time, but I want to know which one you'd like first. (oh and remember to tell me whether or not you want a lemon in your vote; I'll be counting the votes for lemons separately from this)


End file.
